#Caravana43 – Friends and Family of the Ayotzinapa 43 Plan U.S. Tour

Submitted on Mon, 01/26/2015 - 9:16pm

By Greg Rodriguez
Rio Grande Valley, South Texas IWW

On September 26, 2014, 43 students from the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers' College of Ayotzinapa were disappeared outside of Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, after being attacked by local police. The student-teachers were on their way to peacefully protest education policy in Mexico at a conference featuring the mayor’s wife, Maria de Los Angeles. We know now that the city’s Mayor, Jose Luis Abarca, ordered the initial attack on the students which lead to the disappearances. Public outcry over the situation in Mexico has been met with harsh police repression. Abarca and Los Angeles have since been arrested for their involvement in the disappearances, but according to Jose Villagran of the #Caravana43 Planning Committee: “There is no real justice because the system remains in place that let this happen to begin with.” What Villagran speaks of is a system of political corruption, police/cartel violence and an overall “Drug War Capitalism” (to borrow Dawn Paley’s book title) that is largely fueled by United States policy.

It seems appropriate to note that Rural Colleges have strong leftist traditions which carry over toward lifelong commitments to labor and social justice struggles in Mexico.

Family and friends of the missing students are gearing up to tour the United States sometime in March 2015, in what has been dubbed #Caravana43 in order to ensure an online buzz and social media anticipation. They wish to share their stories as the community of Ayotzinapa continue their fight for justice. The tour aims to cover 40 cities in 20 states and will culminate at the United Nations in New York City.

Solidarity protests and press events are also being coordinated to coincide with the tour.

Cities already confirmed by the tour: McAllen, TX, San Antonio, TX, Austin TX, Houston, TX, Dallas, TX, New Orleans, LA, Miami FL, Kansas City, KS, Birmingham, AL, St Louis, MO, Atlanta, GA, Springfield, IL, Durham, NC, Des Moines, IA, Richmond, VA, Minneapolis, MN, Washington, DC, Milwaukee, WI, Philadelphia, PA, Chicago, IL, Lansing, MI, Detroit, MI, New Haven, CT, Boston, MA, Toledo, OH, San Diego, CA, and New York, NY.

The tour’s first stop in the country will be right across the United States/Mexican border in McAllen, Texas; where members of the IWW-RGV, South Texas have already been busy planning fundraisers and educational events as part of the #Caravana43 Planning Committee.

Those wishing to get involved in their respective cities or wanting to meet the friends and family of the Ayotzinapa 43 should contact the regional coordinators of the tour as plans develop.

Atlantic Region: Martha Ojeda [email protected]

Central Region: Julio Cesar Guerrero [email protected]

Pacific Region: Roberto Lovato [email protected]

• All Branches
• News - All Departments and Unions